Travel Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore

Remove this Banner Ad

It will be warm. It will rain. You'll deal with it. All true!

Vietnam is (or at least was when I was there about a decade ago) not as touristy as some other places, but it's also the cheapest, most authentic of the three. Amazing experiences are very doable there. Rent a junk boat on Ha Long bay, go through the Vietnam War (American War there) museums and tunnels, check out Mekong delta tours etc. money goes a long long way in Vietnam. Great place, great food. Live like a king, just be sure to talk in a broad Australian accent so as not to be mistaken for a Yank.

Malaysia is great all over. If you go to KL (and you should) staying somewhere near KLCC is a good start (Traders Hotel is pretty nice, central and not outrageously priced). Then smash all the street food you can, only stop for massages and the occasional bit of high end watch shopping or Chinatown knock off shopping.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

The missus and I did all 3 of them in 10 days. Yep. 10 Days. Got 4 kids and the father in law was unwell at the time so we were going to cancel it, but friends and family insisted on us still going as they would look after things at home so we ended up going. Just had to cut everything back a few days. Obviously we missed out on doing alot, but we crammed as much as we could in, and what we did do was great. Even took the kids to KL and Singapore last year in April.

In KL we stayed at the Hilton Double Tree. Just a short walk through air conditioned/covered walkways to the nearest underground train station, and from there it's just a stop to KLCC. Make sure you see the Petronas Towers, especially at night. Looks amazing when it's lit up. Also check out Menara Tower.

Eat as much street food as you can. Check out Jalan Alor for a feed. Pretty busy at night. Great atmosphere, however I didn't find it as cheap as what I had been told, but maybe I just ate at the wrong places. Food was great though.

KL is full of shopping centres. I went to a few of them, including Pavilion, Farenheit88. Biggest one I found was Berjaya Times Square. Level upon level of shops and even has a roller coaster inside. When we went with the kids we spent the whole day there. Also if your into markets check out Petaling street.

In Singapore we stayed on Clarke Quay. Was good just to stroll along the river at night it the humid weather and people watch. Sort of like Southbank in Melbourne I guess. Check out Gardens by the Bay, Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay Sands ( hotel, casino, shopping centre ). Sentosa Island, which I guess is more for families ( Universal Studios, Aquarium etc ). Don't be afraid to eat at Hawker Centres. We went to Maxwell Hawker Centre. Food nice and cheap and very tasty. For shopping we went to Chinatown markets and bugis street. For really high end shopping go to Orchid Road.

As Singapore is fairly small, taxis are fairly cheap and you can get to where your going quickly. However don't be afraid to use the trains as they put Austraia to shame in that department. All the main stations are massive, clean and safe. We had the family on them close to midnight and never felt uneasy.

Where in Vietnam are you going? I went to Ho Chi Minh.
 
Langkawi (Malaysia) is quite nice if you want a resort experience, and generally a quieter pace with nice wildlife/nature experiences on offer.
Not super cheap, compared to other SE Asian beach places, but if you like drinking the whole island is duty free. I drank some really good quality Scotch when I was there.

I personally felt KL was over-rated. The traffic was horrendous, and the shopping pretty much consisted of shop after shop of the same thing.

The food was good.
 
I'm not much of a beach person, so I'll leave that part to others. Just be aware of monsoon season, especially in Malaysia. I think you'll be fine at that time of year. East coast monsoon season ends in early Feb I think.

I wasn't that big on KL, except the food. Food in Malaysia is universally awesome (except one place, see below). Mind you, it is in Thailand as well. KL was also the worst humidity of a city when I was there. I sweat badly in cold and dry, in KL I was drenched within 20 seconds of walking out of air con.
To escape the hot and humid, the Cameron Highlands are a great getaway. The Taman Negara jungle is fantastic, but a living sauna. And if you stay in the village across from the park, the floating restaurants on the river are the one place the food is bog ordinary.



To Vietnam. Hoi An is an absolute highlight, well worth a few days and the old town is traffic free which can be a relief. Also, a day trip to My Son is well worth it. Get a boat back.
HCMC wasn't so great for me, other love it. I think if I spent more time in Hanoi I could have learned to really like the place (except the taxi drivers, Hanoi is the only place where taxi drivers have annoyed me and they all did). The war museum is confronting, and would be comical in terms of the propoganda, if not for the subject matter. I didn't get down to the delta, but a day trip to Cu Chi or other war tunnels is well worth it. If you stay in any touristy area, there will be tickets available everywhere. I can't speak for all of them, but they seem to actually have a trip when they say they will even if the place seems dodgy at the time of getting the ticket.

I didn't spend enough time in Hue either. I had spend too long in Hoi An and was running short of days.

And Sa Pa and surrounds are great, even better if you are fit enough to do a multi-day trek. (I wasn't and am not.) Its a long overnight train north from Hanoi, towards the Chinese border. Very hilly terrain, often misty. Beware the Hmong selling gifts. Not because they will rip you off, far from it, they just won't leave you alone when you say "no". Buy early and then carry something with you, so they know you've already bought. After that, they are just friendly. I'm doing them a dis-service really, but it did get draining.

As for traffic, if you haven't been clipped by a motorbike you haven't been to Vietnam. It is true that if you just walk at a steady pace, they will somehow find a way around you. If you try and compensate for a bike, that's when you might get hit.


Singers is more than I expected. For me it was only on the list as a halfway house to ease me in to my first time in Asia. It ended up being a few more nights than I expected, partly because of who I met up with and partly because it wasn't quite what I expected. That said, if I went back it would probably only be 2-3 nights as a stopover.
 
Great advice everyone. Starting to get together a list of places within the countries. Starting with Vietnam, looking at Da Nang and surrounds, Hanoi for a bit, and Ho Chi Minh city.
Malaysia I definetely want to go to KL, and then probably an island or resort but only for a day or two. Singapore planning on staying in the city, and just getting the big city vibe and architecture from it all, but now looking like might have to reschedule the trip to September 2017
 
Still yet to do much of Vietnam but loved Hanoi. HCM wasn't as good as I was expecting but a bit disappointed I havnt seen more of Vietnam. Singapore we have done a stack of times as it's usually the hub of where we are going so we usually stopover a few days, burns a hole in your pocket but a fantastic place. I've done Singapore to KL by car and love KL and we used KL as a hub especially as my wife loves Langkawi. Wasn't sold on Penang, only been there once but didn't think the beaches were that great, most were pretty dirty. Langkawi much better but I still don't think any Malaysian beaches can hold a candle to their Thai counterparts.
KL is great if you want to use Air Asia as they have some ripping fares and I've found them pretty reliable, just a pity the Airport is a million miles out of the city. Personally I think Sabah is the best place to visit in Malaysia and I love KK, do the overland route from KK to BSB if you can, not a lot to do in BSB but it's something different
 
A lot already covered by others but..

Kampung Baru in KL is a good feed of a night. It's like an old school part of KL basically right next to the Petronas Towers. Lot 10 Hutong if you're staying in Bukit area never a bad feed. Food really is the best part about the city.

Singapore was surprisingly good. Has a completely different feel to most of Asia. Food again is relatively cheap and delicious. Hawker centres is where it's at.

And already been mentioned but deserves mentioning again, Hoi An in Vietnam. Don't miss it. I love Laos more than anywhere else in SE Asia but Hoi An is not far behind it. It's amazing. The people are relaxed and always a smile, it has the river setting with construction limits due to heritage listing, the beach is 4km away, tailors everywhere, food is spot on, beers are cheap and it's quiet enough to explore the area on a moped. I could live there quite easily.
 
So Ladies and Gents is Air Asia a 100% no fly with?? I know it's very budget but can get return flights to Bali for around $210 and Singapore also very very cheap (Perth)
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Special Agent Utah said:
So Ladies and Gents is Air Asia a 100% no fly with?? I know it's very budget but can get return flights to Bali for around $210 and Singapore also very very cheap (Perth)
Click to expand...
Air Asia are fantastic for a budget airline. I've done the KL to Perth route a couple of times and never had a bad flight. Have had a couple of minor delays in KL but nothing but nothing more than half an hour or so. I'd fly them anyday over Tiger or Jetstar
 
Singapore is an amazing city, but alcohol is ridiculously expensive.
You need to visit Singapore zoo, sentosa island, gardens by the bay (at nighttime) and the marina

Sent from my SM-G925I using Tapatalk
 
checkraiseulite said:
no problems with air asia.

it's a budget airline obviously but a pretty damn good one.
Click to expand...


Great8 said:
Air Asia are fantastic for a budget airline. I've done the KL to Perth route a couple of times and never had a bad flight. Have had a couple of minor delays in KL but nothing but nothing more than half an hour or so. I'd fly them anyday over Tiger or Jetstar
Click to expand...


Gigantic said:
Yeah, echoing the sentiments above. Air Asia are definitely good for the price
Click to expand...


Thanks guys!! Much appreciated
 
sivart said:
Singapore is an amazing city, but alcohol is ridiculously expensive.
You need to visit Singapore zoo, sentosa island, gardens by the bay (at nighttime) and the marina

Sent from my SM-G925I using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Spirits and wine are expensive but beer is cheap in the hawker centres - about $4 for a longneck. Just don't expect a cheap drink in Clarke Quay or Orchard Road

Scoot are a great budget airline too - they are basically Singapore Airlines budget alternative. never had anything but the best from them
 
TigerCraig said:
Spirits and wine are expensive but beer is cheap in the hawker centres - about $4 for a longneck. Just don't expect a cheap drink in Clarke Quay or Orchard Road

Scoot are a great budget airline too - they are basically Singapore Airlines budget alternative. never had anything but the best from them
Click to expand...
I flew with Singapore airlines to Thailand and Silk are from Thailand to Singapore. The Silk air flight was about 20% full and is Singapore airlines budget flight carrier, but I found them to be really good
 
Off to Vietnam and Cambodia for three weeks in mid-August next year.

Was planning a week in Cambodia (Siam Reap - 3 nights and Phnom Penh 2 nights) then rest of time in Vietnam (HCMC, Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sapa and Hoi Ann/Hue). And two night stopover in Hong Kong.

Told Sapa and Hoi Ann are must dos.
 
KellyGrin said:
I'm going to visit Singapore next summer. Hope it will be amazing trip!
Click to expand...

sivart said:
Singapore is an amazing city, but alcohol is ridiculously expensive.
You need to visit Singapore zoo, sentosa island, gardens by the bay (at nighttime) and the marina

Sent from my SM-G925I using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

In addition Sivart's recommendations above, if you get time try and head to Dempsey Hill for dinner one night and the walk up and down Orchard Road is a good experience (try eating at Marché @ Somerset.....if you can find it, I eat there every month.). My favourite shopping centre is Paragon and Tambling Mall is a quaint, out of the way little place that hold some good memories for me (but don't go out of your way to go there unless you're staying down that end of Orchard at The Regent or close by). Taxi's are cheap but the MRT is fantastic so try and use that as much as you can. If you go to the Marina Bay Casino - take your passport. Singapore is 'done' in 3-4 days, so enjoy.
 
Dee Snider said:
In addition Sivart's recommendations above, if you get time try and head to Dempsey Hill for dinner one night and the walk up and down Orchard Road is a good experience (try eating at Marché @ Somerset.....if you can find it, I eat there every month.). My favourite shopping centre is Paragon and Tambling Mall is a quaint, out of the way little place that hold some good memories for me (but don't go out of your way to go there unless you're staying down that end of Orchard at The Regent or close by). Taxi's are cheap but the MRT is fantastic so try and use that as much as you can. If you go to the Marina Bay Casino - take your passport. Singapore is 'done' in 3-4 days, so enjoy.
Click to expand...

I'll be there again late March/first week of April. Was going to pop into Marche last time but was bloated from all the beer at the German bar by the entry to the shopping centre. Sandwiches looked sensational. Usually eat where friends take us - good local fare. Love going there. Only one cd store to really check out, but I make do with the beer, food and darts.
 
deathevocation said:
I'll be there again late March/first week of April. Was going to pop into Marche last time but was bloated from all the beer at the German bar by the entry to the shopping centre. Sandwiches looked sensational. Usually eat where friends take us - good local fare. Love going there. Only one cd store to really check out, but I make do with the beer, food and darts.
Click to expand...

Most people don't realise there's a restaurant down underneath the Marché bakery....shhhh secret.
 
juss said:
Apparantly no matter when you go its going to be hot and humid. Looking at going March/April 2017, what are peoples thoughts?

What sort of places are must dos in these countries? Where would you spend the most time?
Click to expand...
I did Vietnam in April 2014. No rain, but it was hot. You just cannot escape the heat! If you mix it up, i.e., do Hanoi or Saigon first, then spend some time at a resort in Na Trang or Hoi An, you'll be right.

Hoi An is sublime. The food is out of this world, the people as friendly, and the vibe is relaxed. No guarantees how long this will last, although the old centre of Hoi An is UNESCO classified so hopefully it will not be ruined by developers like Koh Samui in Thailand has.

Most of the Hoi An resorts are 5 -10 minutes out of town. I stayed at the Sunrise. The manager told me that in the hottest period of the year, Octoberish I think, they have to drop massive ice blocks in the resort pool because the pool water gets so hot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top